Looks like “Bridgerton” fans will need to find a different duke to burn for: Regé-Jean Page will not be returning for the show’s second season.
In a missive posted to the official “Bridgerton” social media channels, Lady Whistledown herself announced that Page’s character, Simon Bassett, aka the Duke of Hastings, isn’t slated for a reappearance in the hit Netflix show’s upcoming season.
“Dearest Readers, while all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Regé-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings,” the message reads.
“We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family. Daphne will remain a devoted wife and sister, helping her brother navigate the upcoming social season and what it has to offer ― more intrigue and romance than my readers may be able to bear.”
Page notably sent many hearts aflutter in season one with the show’s numerous spicy sex scenes and his smoldering gaze.
He responded to Whistledown’s note on Twitter, calling his time on the show a “pleasure and a privilege.”
The 31-year-old also told Variety that his interest in the Duke of Hastings role was tied to its brevity.
“It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end ― give us a year,” Page told Variety of how the role was presented to him. “[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”
Of the upcoming seasons of the show, based on a series of novels by Julia Quinn that follow various storylines, Page said: “I have nothing but excitement for ‘Bridgerton’ continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe, but there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”
Excuse us, but we need to go rewatch season one and cry over how well Page wears a cravat.
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